The Last Year of University | 5 Regrets

Second year was an unprecedented rollercoaster, that resulted in a lot of my friends transferring out to other programs. It only makes sense that the second list in my reflection of university be like second year.

That is, kind of hard and depressing.

1. My major.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love what I study and I’m excited to apply it to biomedical research. I love doing biomedical research, and knowing the work I do can help people who are sick.

But if I could go back and do it again, I don’t know that I would have picked biochemistry.

I think I would have still majored in science, but taken a degree that would have allowed me to pursue my original plan: a Dual Major in Science and English Literature. I might have picked Biology, or Microbiology, or maybe even Computer Science.

2. Not participating in clubs.

Living a 1.5 – 2 hour transit commute away from campus really put a cramp in extracurriculars. I was hesitant to stay late on campus because I knew whenever what I was doing ended, I would face a long commute home, only to eat and take a shower before falling asleep because I needed to wake up at 5 am the next morning.

I regret not joining any club, and risking my sleep on some socialization. I attended some Nerdfighter gatherings and some Women in Science events, but other than that I didn’t really do much.

3. Not taking advantage of student discounts.

In particular, access to the universities facilities such as the gym, museums, and most importantly, show tickets.

UBC has lots of student productions and other concerts at the various theatres, and after attending my first opera at a student discount last term, I really knew I was missing out.

4. Not getting an Arts minor.

I spent all of my electives on Arts classes: mythology and literature specifically. I really enjoyed the ones I chose, but because of the course levels and the minor requirements, I had the net number of credits necessary for an Arts minor, but not enough upper level credits.

Le sigh.

5. Not studying abroad.

I opted to taking Co-op instead of studying abroad, since I knew both would extend my degree a little too long.

That being said, it would have been cool to study or work in another country.

This isn’t necessarily the worst thing on this list, because I can still travel.